10-fold salary hike mooted for MLAs

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When did you last see your MLA at work? Instead of debating issues that concern you, they walk out of the assembly to stall proceedings.
They, at times, assault anyone who stands in their way as happened on Friday when an Opposition MLA attacked a female watch-and-ward and made her cry. But MLAs come together setting aside party barriers and ideology to demand a fat pay check.Justice Ramachandra Babu commission has proposed a 10-fold salary hike for ministers at a time when common man has been slapped with a slew of price hikes ranging from milk, electricity, water and road transport. Speaker, deputy speaker, leader of Opposition and chief whip, too, will enjoy the 10-time bounty.
The commission has recommended a Rs 10,000 per month salary for all of them, which was earlier pegged at Rs 1,000.
Now daily allowance would be hiked to Rs 750 within the state and Rs 900 for outside state. Ministers would now pocket Rs 22,500 per month as daily allowance.
For MLAs, the report has recommended monthly emoluments of Rs 40,250 from the existing Rs 20,300. The report was handed over to speaker G Karthikeyan in the presence of chief minister Oommen Chandy on Friday. The panel recommended that the fixed allowances of MLAs be increased to Rs 8,500 from the present Rs 300 and the constituency allowance to Rs 6,500 from Rs 5,000.
The report has also recommended the introduction of information allowance of Rs 1,000, sumptuary allowance of Rs 1,500 and a driver allowance of Rs 6,250. The report has also recommended interest-free vehicle advance of Rs 5 lakh and house building advance of Rs 10 lakh at reduced rate of interest for the MLAs. The accident insurance should be enhanced to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 2 lakh and the secretarial allowance should be introduced with Rs 7,500 per MLAs. The entitlement for the fuel or rail coupons per year should be made to Rs 1,44,000 lakh.
The commission has proposed a revision of the monthly minimum pension of Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000 and the rate of addition for each completed year from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. The revised pension for five years may be fixed at Rs 10,000. The rate of maximum pension may be Rs 25,000.
A former MLA who crosses the age of 75 years may be paid a lump sum additional pension of Rs 2,500 per month; from the age of 85 years it should be Rs 3,000 and from the age of 95 years it should be Rs 3,500.